I. ˈblēd verb
( bled ˈbled ; obsolete bleeded ; bled obsolete bleeded ; bleeding ; bleeds )
Etymology: Middle English bleden, from Old English blēdan, from blōd blood — more at blood
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to emit blood
the wound bled freely
: to lose blood
hemophiliacs often bleed severely from the slightest scratch
b. : to lose blood from wounds : to sacrifice one's blood (as in battle)
men who fought and bled along this rocky coast
2.
a. : to feel anguish, pain, or sympathy
his heart bleeds for the distress of his fellows
b. : to be in grave distress or seriously disordered circumstances
the human race … bleeding in its uneasy sleep — Irwin Shaw
c. : to become upset or bothered
only steak and four eggs for breakfast? I bleed for you
3.
a. : to ooze, drop, or flow from or as though from a wound
grease bleeding through a wrapper
also : to escape by such a process
pitch bleeds freely from any little break in the bark
b. of life or its phenomena : to terminate as a result of bleeding — usually used with away
retaining but a quantity of life, which bleeds away — Shakespeare
c. : to give up some constituent or content by bleeding
fruits sulfured at high temperatures … bleed more readily than when sulfured at lower temperatures — Experiment Station Record
4. : to exude something : discharge: as
a. : to exude water or sap from a wounded surface (as of a tree)
b. : to diffuse or run when wetted — used chiefly of textile dyes or dyed fabrics
c. : to diffuse into and show through a covering layer — used of various pigments or of the paints, enamels, or varnishes into which they are incorporated
5. dialect Britain , of grain crops : to yield well
6.
a. : to pay out or give money
willing to bleed freely for the cause
b. : to have money drawn or extorted
hang those city fellows, they must bleed — W.M.Thackeray
7. : to be printed so as to run off one or more edges of a printed page or sheet after trimming — often used with off
the halftones bleed off all round the edges of the 4-page spread
8. : to separate from a mixture — used especially of oils (as from grease)
9. : to exude bituminous material — used of pavements or creosoted timber bound or impregnated with such material
transitive verb
1. : to remove or draw blood from
at one time the surgeon bled the patient for any or every ill
the meat will keep better if the carcass is bled immediately and thoroughly
2.
a. : to obtain money from especially by improper or unlawful methods
the company … had bled consumers in western Mississippi of $2 to $3 million a year in excessive rates — New Republic
b. : to take away : extract
mobilization plans call for bleeding just as much metals out of the durable-goods industries as they can stand — Newsweek
3. : to draw the sap from (a tree)
4. : to drain or empty of liquid, gas, or other contents especially slowly: as
a. : to empty of accumulated water (as a steam cylinder, air reservoir, or a leaking buoy in which water has accumulated)
b. : to let out the air from (a reservoir or other container) so as to diminish pressure
c. : to let out grain from (a sack) by slitting (as in stowing a cargo)
d. : to draw off or extract (low-pressure steam) from any of the stages of the expansions of a steam turbine for heating buildings, for boiler feed water, for process work, or for other purposes
5. : to cause (as a printed illustration) to bleed ; also : to trim (as a page) so that some of the printing bleeds
6. of a dyed article : to give up (dye or color) when wetted
•
- bleed white
II. noun
( -s )
1. print : something that bleeds or is bled (as an illustration or a page) ; also : the part trimmed off in bleeding or the corresponding area of the printing plate
2. : a stain discoloration showing on a surface resulting from diffusion of coloring matter from a substance
3.
a. : bleeder 4a
b. : a narrow opening in the surface of an air inlet through which low-energy boundary-layer air is bled off from the main stream
III. noun
: the escape of blood from vessels : hemorrhage
a massive gastrointestinal bleed